Means for releasably binding an album cover and album pages together

ABSTRACT

An album comprises a front cover, rear cover, a back member connected to the front and rear covers, a plurality of album pages each having hinge elements thereon, and a pair of hinge supporting members on the inner surface of the back member. Each of the album pages has means thereon which define a pair of hinge elements that releasably engage the hinge supporting members. The hinge supporting members are each comprised of a base having a plurality of hinge engaging elements integrally formed therewith and projecting outwardly from one surface thereof. The hinge engaging elements of each supporting member have an enlarged end, thus permitting the hinge elements of each page to be inserted between a plurality of the hinge retaining elements so as to releasably lock the album pages to the hinge supporting members. The album pages are swingable relative to the hinge supporting members, thus permitting the album to be opened into completely flat condition. The album pages may be readily removed from the hinge supporting members or may be added thereto, as desired.

United States Patent 1191' Holes etal.

[ MEANS FOR RELEASABLY BINDING AN ALBUM COVER AND ALBUM PAGES TOGETHER [75] Inventors: William W. Holes; Roger A.

Wenstrom, both of St. Cloud, Minn.

[73] Assignee: William W. Holes, St. Cloud, Minn.

[22] Filed: June 10, 1971 211 App]. No.: 151,832

[52] U.S. Cl 281/17, 16/171, 24/204, 7 281/45 R [51] Int. Cl B4211 3/00 [58] Field of Search 281/45 R, 45 A, 17, 281/21; 24/204; 16/128,171;220/305 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,145,326 8/1964 McGannon 281/45 A 3,266,1 13 8/1966 Flanagan, .11. 24/204 1,050,440 H1913 Ersler 281/45 R 716,363 12/1902 Barrett 281/17 FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS 1,187,966 4/1970 Great Britain 281/17 948,166 1/1964 Great 31118111.. 281/17 617,186 2/1949 Great Britain 281/17 1451 Aug. 14, 1973 Primary Examiner-Russell R. Kinsey Assistant Examiner.l. N. Eskovitz Attorney-George F. Williamson, H. Dale Palmatier and Herman l-l. Bains ABSTRACT An album comprises a front cover, rear cover, a back member connected to the front and rear covers, a plurality of album pages each having hinge elements thereon, and a pair of hinge supporting members on the inner surface of the back member. Each of the album pages has means thereon which define a pair of hinge elements that releasably engage the hinge supporting members. The hinge supporting members are each comprised of a base having a plurality of hinge engaging elements integrally formed therewith and projecting outwardly from one surface thereof. The hinge en gaging elements of each supporting member have an enlarged end, thus permitting the hinge elements of each page to be inserted between a plurality of the hinge retaining elements so as to releasably lock the album pages to the hinge supporting members. The album pages are swingable relative to the hinge supporting members, thus permitting the album to be opened into completely flat condition. The album pages may be readily removed from the hinge supporting members or may be added thereto, as desired.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PA'TENTEDAus 14 um 3752-5015;

I N VENTORS Wzllz'am wHoZes, yerA.wenstmm MEANS FOR RELEASABLY BINDING AN ALBUM COVER AND ALBUM PAGES TOGETHER SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a general object of this invention to provide an album with a novel and improved hinge supporting member for engaging and supporting the hinge elements of the album pages. The album cover structure is provided with a plurality of hinge supporting members, each engaging the hinge elements of the album pages with snap coupling effect to releasably lock the album pages to the cover but permitting the pages to be swung or pivoted relative to the hinge supporting members. The hinge supporting members are each of single piece construction and each includes a base having a plurality of hinge engaging elements positioned in sideby-side relation and arranged in rows, the hinge elements being secured between the hinge engaging elements defining a pair of rows. This arrangement permits the pages to be readily added to the album and removed therefrom as desired.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the album in a partially opened condition, with certain parts thereof broken away for clarity;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of a hinge supporting member illustrating the manner in which the hinge elements of a pair of pages engage a hinge supporting member;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken approximately along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary end elevational view of an album illustrating the hinge supporting means;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of an album page illustrating the manner in which the hinge element of the page is secured to the associated hinge supporting member; and

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a fragmentary portion of an album page but illustrating a slightly different embodiment thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings and more specifically to FIGS. 1 to 5, it will be seen that one embodiment of an album, designated generally by the reference numeral I0 is there shown. The album is comprised of a unitary cover structure 11 including a front cover 12, a rear cover 13, and an intermediate or back member 14. The front and rear covers and the back member are each formed of a paperboard core 15 which is covered by a flexible cover element 16. This flexible cover element may be formed of a suitable plastic material such as. those used in the album covers which are currently commercially available.

It will be noted that the core member for the front cover, the rear cover, and the back member are each of generally rectangular configuration. The respective longitudinal edges of the core member for the back member is positioned closely adjacent the respective longitudinal edges of the core member of the front and rear covers. The paperboard core member is of somewhat rigid construction, and since the cover element is formed of a relatively thin flexible material, hinge connections I7 are formed between the back member 14 and the front and rear covers.

The album 10 also includes a plurality of similar album pages 18 which are of generally rectangular configuration and each being formed of a suitable paper material. It will be noted that the album pages are slightly smaller dimensionally than the front and rear covers. It will also be noted that each album page 18 has an elongate relatively narrow hinge mounting strip 19 folded over and applied to the inner longitudinal edge portion of the page. The hinge mounting strip 19 serves to mount a pair of U-shaped hinge elements 20 on the page.

In this regard, each U-shaped hinge element includes a pair of legs 21 which are integral with the bight portion 22 thereof. Although not shown in the drawing, the respective ends of the legs 21 are turned outwardly and are positioned against the inner longitudinal edge of the page and are secured thereagainst by the associated hinge mounting strip 19. It will be noted then that the U-shaped hinge elements are positioned to lie within the general plane of the associated album page.

Means are provided for releasably mounting each of the album pages on the unitary cover structure I1, and this means includes a pair of hinge supporting members 23 which are spaced apart and which are secured to the inner surface of the back member I4. Each of these hinge supporting members 23 includes an elongate base 24 which may be secured to the inner surface of the back member by any suitable adhesive such as glue or the like. A plurality of similar hinge engaging elements or posts 25 are integrally formed with the base and project outwardly from one surface thereof. Each of these hinge engaging elements has an enlarged end portion 26 as best seen in FIG. 4.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the hinge engaging elements 25 are arranged in rows which extend transversely of the base 24. The spacing between adjacent rows is of a size to permit rotational movement of the bight portion of each hinge element when the bight portion is seated between the hinge engaging elements of a pair of such rows.

The enlarged ends 26 of the hinge engaging element serves to releasably retain the hinge elements in a locked position between adjacent rows. Thus when the hinge elements are urged into engaging relation between a pair of such rows, a bight portion of the hinge elements is engaged with snap coupling effect by the hinge supporting members, thereby releasably mounting the pages on the back member of the unitary cover structure 111. However, since the hinge elements are normally disposed in the plane of the page, the album pages will lie flat when the album is in the opened condition. With this arrangement, pages may be added and removed as desired by merely engaging or disengaging the hinge supporting members with respect to the hinge elements on each page. It is pointed out that the hinge supporting members are formed of a suitable plastic material and are commercially available.

Referring now to FIG. 6, it will be seen that a slightly different embodiment of the album page, designated generally by the reference numeral 180, is there shown. The album page is provided with an elongate hinge mounting strip 19a which is folded over and applied to the inner longitudinal edge of the page. The page has a recess 21a therein and the hinge mounting strip also has a pair of openings therein which are disposed in registering relation with respect to the recess in the album page. Means comprising an elongate hinge element 20a is positioned against the inner longitudinal edge of the page and is secured thereto by the hinge mounting strip 19a. Although only a single hinge element 20a is provided, two such hinges are defined by the recesses and these hinges are also engaged by a hinge supporting member 23a identical in construction to that shown in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 5. Thus the hinge supporting member includes a base 240 having hinge engaging elements 25a which terminate in enlarged end portions 26a. The hinge engaging elements are arranged in rows and releasably retain or lock the hinges 20a in pivotally mounted relation on the hinge supporting members. It is pointed out that the hinge supporting member will be applied to the back member of a unitary cover structure in the manner of the embodiment of FIG. 1. Thus the pages are pivotally mounted on the unitary cover and permit the album to open in a completely flat condition. It will be noted from FIG.s and 6 that the hinge elements and 20a respectively each have a length dimension greater than the width dimension of the base of the hinge mounting members.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that l have provided a novel means for mounting album pages on a unitary cover structure. The album pages may be very easily added and removed without requiring any assembly or disassembly with respect to the cover of the album. The albums of the type referred to may be photograph albums, scrapbooks and the like.

Thus it will be seen that l have provided a novel means of mounting album pages to albums, which not only presents a unique, inexpensive way of constructing albums, but one which permits the album to be used in a highly efficient manner.

What is claimed is:

1. An album comprising a front cover, a rear cover and an elongate back member hingedly connected with said front and rear covers,

a plurality of rectangular shaped alburc pages each having inner and outer longitudinal edges, each page having a pair of longitudinally spaced apart recesses in the inner longitudinal edge thereof, an elongate hinge member positioned against said inner edge, an elongate relatively narrow hinge mounting strip folded over and applied to said inner longitudinal edge whereby said hinge member defines a pair of binge elements at said recesses, said pair of hinge elements for each page being disposed within the general plane of the page.

a pair of non-metallic longitudinally spaced apart hinge supporting members on said back member releasably mounting the pages on the back member, each of said hinge supporting members including an elongate base secured to the inner surface of said back member and having a plurality of similar hinge engaging posts projecting outwardly therefrom, each hinge engaging post having an enlarged outer end, said hinge engaging posts of each hinge supporting member being arranged in rows extending transversely of the base and longitudinally of the back member, each row having a plurality of spaced apart posts therein, each hinge element for an album page being removably inserted with snap coupling effect between and being revolvable relative to the hinge engaging elements of a pair of rows to pivotally mount the pages on the back member and each hinge element projecting outwardly beyond each pair of rows between which it is gripped.

2. An album comprising a front cover, a rear cover and an elongate back member hingedly connected with said front and rear covers,

a plurality of rectangular shaped album pages each having means defining a pair of hinge elements affixed to one longitudinal edge thereof, said pair of hinge elements for each page being disposed within the general plane of the page,

a pair of non-metallic longitudinally spaced apart hinge supporting members on said back member releasably mounting the pages on the back member, each of said hinge supporting members including an elongate base secured to the inner surface of said back member and having a plurality of similar hinge engaging posts projecting outwardly therefrom, each hinge engaging post having an enlarged outer end, said hinge engaging posts of each hinge supporting member being arranged in rows extending transversely of the base and longitudinally of the back member, each row having a plurality of spaced apart posts therein, each hinge element for an album page being removably inserted with snap coupling effect between and being revolvable relative to the hinge engaging elements of a pair of rows to pivotally mount the pages on the back member and each hinge element projecting outwardly beyond each pair of rows between which it is gripped.

3. The album as defined in claim 2 wherein the hinge engaging elements for each album page are of generally U-shaped configuration and each projects outwardly from said one longitudinal edge, each hinge element including a bight portion having a length dimension greater than the width dimension of the base member. t 

1. An album comprising a front cover, a rear cover and an elongate back member hingedly connected with said front and rear covers, a plurality of rectangular shaped album pages each having inner and outer longitudinal edges, each page having a pair of longitudinally spaced apart recesses in the inner longitudinal edge thereof, an elongate hinge member positioned against said inner edge, an elongate relatively narrow hinge mounting strip folded over and applied to said inner longitudinal edge whereby said hinge member defines a pair of hinge elements at said recesses, said pair of hinge elements for each page being disposed within the general plane of the page. a pair of non-metallic longitudinally spaced apart hinge supporting members on said back member releasably mounting the pages on the back member, each of said hinge supporting members including an elongate base secured to the inner surface of said back member and having a plurality of similar hinge engaging posts projecting outwardly therefrom, each hinge engaging post having an enlarged outer end, said hinge engaging posts of each hinge supporting member being arranged in rows extending transversely of the base and longitudinally of the back member, each row having a plurality of spaced apart posts therein, each hinge element for an album page being removably inserted with snap coupling effect between and being revolvable relative to the hinge engaging elements of a pair of rows to pivotalLy mount the pages on the back member and each hinge element projecting outwardly beyond each pair of rows between which it is gripped.
 2. An album comprising a front cover, a rear cover and an elongate back member hingedly connected with said front and rear covers, a plurality of rectangular shaped album pages each having means defining a pair of hinge elements affixed to one longitudinal edge thereof, said pair of hinge elements for each page being disposed within the general plane of the page, a pair of non-metallic longitudinally spaced apart hinge supporting members on said back member releasably mounting the pages on the back member, each of said hinge supporting members including an elongate base secured to the inner surface of said back member and having a plurality of similar hinge engaging posts projecting outwardly therefrom, each hinge engaging post having an enlarged outer end, said hinge engaging posts of each hinge supporting member being arranged in rows extending transversely of the base and longitudinally of the back member, each row having a plurality of spaced apart posts therein, each hinge element for an album page being removably inserted with snap coupling effect between and being revolvable relative to the hinge engaging elements of a pair of rows to pivotally mount the pages on the back member and each hinge element projecting outwardly beyond each pair of rows between which it is gripped.
 3. The album as defined in claim 2 wherein the hinge engaging elements for each album page are of generally U-shaped configuration and each projects outwardly from said one longitudinal edge, each hinge element including a bight portion having a length dimension greater than the width dimension of the base member. 